Another Scoundrel
by SkywalkerCharm
Summary: Set in ANH. When Ben Kenobi and Luke Skywalker discover the scoundrel known as Han Solo, they also meet another, more mysterious and.. female scoundrel with a loud mouth and sarcastic attitude. But something tells Luke that this blonde smuggler is more than just a Corellian orphan. This farm boy soon discovers that not all women are well educated Princesses.
1. ANH 1

Luke gazed on at the town of Mos Eisley, which looked relatively safe and normal, but his thoughts were soon contradicted by Ben Kenobi, who spoke distastefully of the place, "Mos Eisley Spaceport. You will never find a more wretched hive of scum and villainy. We must be cautious."

Luke flashed his new-found master a determined smile as they began to head down to the spaceport.

It was unnerving to see the place riddled with storm troopers, and even more unnerving that one stopped the speeder, "How long have you had these?" The trooper asked, indicating the two droids at the back of the speeder.

"About three or four seasons." Luke lied.

"They're for sale if you want them." Obi-Wan added, knowing that a simple storm trooper didn't have the authority to purchase droids.

Ignoring the Jedi Master's offer, the trooper held out his hand, "Let me see your identification."

The farm boy had to refrain from letting his eyes widen as he suddenly became nervous, however it was Obi-Wan again who saved the day, "You do not need to see his identification." He told the trooper, waving his hand slightly.

"I do not need to see his identification." The storm trooper repeated.

"These are not the droids you're looking for."

"These are not the droids we're looking for."

"He can go about his business."

"You can go about your business."

"Move along."

The trooper looked back to his fellow soldiers and nodded, "Move along. Move along."

Luke looked back to Ben, astounded at what he was capable of, only to get a trace of a smug smile from the older man.

* * *

"We don't serve their kind in here!" The bartender yelled to Luke, indicating the two droids. Obeying the owner's order, the farm boy looked back to Threepio and Artoo, "Why don't you two wait with the speeder?"

The golden droid nodded, "I certainly agree with you, Sir." He said, before trotting out with his small counterpart.

Luke continued to Ben's side, who was busy talking to a creature who was presumably a pirate.

Even though he was minding his own business, the farm boy got shoved on the shoulder by an ugly alien, who was yelling something in his own language, it was obvious that the creature was drunk, so Luke just looked back to his hands, trying to ignore it. However, it was not that easy, a human then shoved him on the shoulder to get his attention, "He doesn't like you." The man told him, slurring slightly.

"I'm sorry."

"I don't like you either." He snarled, "Don't insult us. You just watch yourself. We're wanted men, I have the death sentence in twelve systems."

Luke tried not to show his nervousness and fear, "I'll be careful then." He said, cursing himself for sounding ridiculously sarcastic.

"You'll be dead." The man retorted, inching closer to Luke's face.

The farm boy was glad that for the second time that day Ben stepped between him and his attacker, "This little one isn't worth the effort." He negotiated, "Come, let me buy you something-"

Cutting the old man off, the alien and human shoved Luke to the floor aggressively, not even bothering to listen to the bartenders yells, "No blasters! No blasters!"

Suddenly, a blue stream of light illuminated the cantina, and within seconds the two drunks were decapitated by Obi-Wan, who's face remained calm. The music playing in the background stopped for a split second, as everyone surveyed the dead bodies on the floor, before the whole cantina returning to normal, deciding that brawls like that happened daily and there was nothing really different about that one.

Ben deactivated his lightsaber, and turned back to Luke as a tall, hairy creature came up behind him.

"This is Chewbacca." The Jedi Master said, "He's first mate on a ship that might suit our needs.

Luke nodded and followed the two to a small booth, where the Wookiee sat down, Obi-Wan and Luke opposite him.

Two figures then approached him, one male and tall, one small and female.

The man sat down first, tall and tanned, brown eyes and hair, obviously Corellian. However it was the woman who Luke's eyes went to immediately. Just a few inches smaller than himself, she had long, blonde, curly locks braided messily in a fishtail plait over her shoulder, and deep blue piercing eyes. She wore a black, off the shoulder crop top, which showed her defined, toned abdomen clearly, with black leather shorts and black combat boots, a blaster clipped to a loose fitting belt. Luke even caught Obi-Wan staring at the girl, it was obvious that the two were in awe at her.

She sat down next to the man, both of them leaning back identically in a casual, but a tad cocky manner.

"I'm Han Solo, Captain of the Millennium Falcon, and this is Elle Novar," He nodded the the younger girl, "Chewie here tells us that you're lookin' for passage to the Alderaan system."

"Indeed," Ben nodded, "If it's a fast ship."

Han was offended by this, and Elle looked amused, "Fast ship? You've never heard of the Millennium Falcon?"

"Should I have?" The Jedi Master asked innocently.

"It's the ship that made the Kessel run in less than twelve parsecs!"

Luke suppressed a smirk as he saw the blonde girl roll her eyes at the pilot's obvious obvious lie.

Han continued, "I've outrun Imperial starships, not the local bulk-cruisers, mind you. I'm talking about the big Corellian ships now. She's fast enough for you, old man. What's the cargo?"

"Only passengers. Myself, the boy, and two droids, no questions asked."

The pilot smirked, "What is it? Some kind of local trouble?"

Ben shrugged, "Let's just say we'd like to avoid any Imperial entanglements."

"Well, that's the trick, isn't it? And it's gonna cost you something extra. Ten thousand in advanced."

Luke was astounded that he was the only one who thought that kind of money was outrageous, "Ten thousand?" He exclaimed, "We could almost buy our own ship for that!"

Speaking for the first time, in a strong but feminine Corellian accent, "But who's gonna fly it, you?" She laughed, making Luke dislike her immediately despite how amazingly beautiful she was.

Han looked to his partner and smirked, "Yeah, kid, you?"

"You bet I could," Luke retorted confidently, "I'm not such a bad pilot myself!" He whined, before turning to his mentor, "We don't have to sit here and listen-"

Ben held up a hand to him, cutting the farm boy off, "We haven't that much with us. But we could pay you two thousand now, plus fifteen when we reach Alderaan."

Elle's eyebrows shot upwards and Chewbacca growled in shock, however Han remained calm, "Seventeen, huh?" He pondered, before nodding, "Okay. You guys got yourself a ship. We'll leave as soon as you're ready, docking bay ninety-four."

Ben nodded his conformation, "Ninety-four." He repeated, before getting up and sneaking out with Luke, as storm troopers had entered and were starting to notice the lightsaber wounds in the two dead men that Obi-Wan had killed.


	2. ANH 2

"What a piece of junk." Luke frowned as he looked upon the trash heap that was the Millennium Falcon.

He could hear Elle snort and mutter something like, "Rude, whiny nerfherder," From behind the Falcon, which only made him dislike the Corellian female even more.

Han came down the boarding ramp, "She'll make point five beyond the speed of light." He stated, annoyed by the boy's whininess, "She may not look like much, but she's got it where it counts, kid. I've added some special modifications myself."

Luke scratched his head, not convinced that the Falcon would be as good as the three pilots made it out to be.

There was suddenly a roar from Chewie, and Han immediately became alarmed, "We're a little rushed, so if you'll hurry aboard, we'll get outta here." He said, gesturing them to follow him inside.

Luke followed Ben, Elle, Chewie and Han inside the ship, the latter three rushing into the cockpit.

"We have trouble, Solo!" Elle yelled back to Han as she flicked various switches on the wall of the cockpit, as Chewie started up the engines, "Troopers are here, and they don't want us out!"

Han grumbled as he sat in his chair, "Let's get off this dust bowl." He muttered as the ship lifted off and out of the docking bay.

As soon as they exited Tatooine's atmosphere a huge Imperial ship came into the view of the transparisteel window.

"Shit." Elle cursed under her breath as she sat down behind her two companions.

"Looks like an Imperial cruiser. Our passengers must be hotter than I thought," he remarked, "Try and hold them off. Angle the deflector shield while I make the calculations for the jump to light speed."

Luke and Obi-Wan appeared in the cockpit, much to the annoyance of the three already present.

Elle was flicking some more switches and adjusting things on the wall, and was irritated to see that Luke was standing in her way, "Move, laser brain!" She ordered, pushing past him to the other side.

"Excuse me are the words!" The farm boy retorted, but was ignored by the girl, so he just leaned over Han and Chewie to get a better look.

"Stay sharp!" The Corellian told his co-pilot, "There are two more coming in; they're going to try to cut us off."

"Why don't you outrun them?" Luke asked sarcastically, "I thought you said this thing was fast!"

Not even looking back, Han growled slightly, "Watch your mouth, kid! Or you're gonna find yourself floating home. We'll be safe enough once we make the jump to hyperspace." He said, "Besides, I know a few manoeuvres, we'll loose 'em." He added, returning to his cocky demeanour.

There were suddenly a few blasts rocking the ship slightly, but the three pilots were again, not shaken.

"Here's where the fun begins." Han grinned, reminding Obi-Wan of Anakin Skywalker.

Ben remained calm too, as he had been in many battles not even remotely scary to the one that he was currently in, "How long before you can make the jump to light speed?" He asked calmly.

The Captain shrugged, "It'll take a few moment to get the coordinates from the Navi computer."

A few lasers hit the ship once again, rocking it more violently, "Are you kidding?!" Luke exclaimed, once again, "At the rate they're gaining-"

"Travelling through hyperspace isn't like dusting crops, boy!" Han shot, a snicker from Elle behind him, "Without precise calculations we could fly right through a star or bounce too close to a supernova and that'd end your trip real quick, wouldn't it?"

"Watch out!" Elle warned as the ship was constantly getting battered by laser blasts.

Luke pointed to a red flashing light, "What's that?" He asked rather innocently, only to have his hand smacked away by Han, who ignored his question.

"We're loosing out deflector shield. Go strap yourselves in," He ordered his customers, "I'm going to make the jump to light speed."

As the two exited the cockpit, the stars turned into white streaks of light as the Falcon jumped into hyperspace.

* * *

"Well you can forget your troubles with those Imperial slugs," Han gloated as he and Elle entered the main hold of the ship, "I told you I'd outrun 'em."

When no one seemed to take notice of Han, he became annoyed, especially with Elle laughing at him, "Don't everyone thank me at once." He muttered as he and his blonde companion sat down next to Obi-Wan.

"Remember," Ben told Luke, who had his lightsaber ignited and was practicing with a small blaster droid, "a Jedi can feel the Force flowing through them."

Luke frowned, "You mean it controls your actions?"

"Partially, but it also obeys your commands."

As a consequence of loosing his focus, Luke was hit in the leg by a laser, making him tumble over, causing Elle and Han to burst out laughing.

"Hokey religions and ancient weapons are no match for a good blaster at your side, kid." He smirked, patting his holster.

Luke deactivated his blue blade and turned to the Corellian, "You don't believe in the force, do you?"

Han rolled his eyes, "Kid, I've flown from one side of the galaxy to the other. I've seen a lot of strange stuff, but I've never seen anything to make me believe there's one all-powerful force controlling everything. There's no mystical energy field that controls my destiny." He shook his head, "It's all a lot of simple tricks and nonsense."

Ben smiled slightly, and turned to the blonde sitting next to him, who was looking at her hands, uneasiness radiating off her through the force, "I sense you do not agree with your companion, am I correct?" He asked.

Elle's piercing blue eyes shot up, but she did not speak, so Ben asked her another question, "What was your name again, young one?"

"Elle Novar." She answered confidently, but suspiciously.

The Jedi Master raised an eyebrow, "Your parents names?"

"Zak Novar and Sena Bell." She answered, narrowing her eyes slightly.

"Do you know what became of them?" He asked further, pushing for an answer.

The blonde looked away, "They were killed by Vader when I was nine." She answered quietly, "I watched him decapitate them both, and I couldn't do anything."

Obi-Wan obviously looked disturbed by this, and thought hard for a second, "I knew your parents." He finally confessed.

Elle glared at the old man, "How?"

"They were Jedi."

Both of the Corellian's eyes widened at the closure, "W-What?" The blonde stammered, not quite sure she believed him.

"I remember your mother clearly, a lovely, kind hearted woman, who was one of the best swords women at the temple, only second to Mace Windu, and Zak was a friend of Luke's father, they were very close at the temple, he was very strong in the force." He reminisced.

Luke looked to Elle, who looked incredibly disturbed, "Looks like our fathers were friends then." He smiled sadly, feeling a connection to the girl seeing as Vader killed both of their parents.

The girl did not respond, keeping her eyes locked on Obi-Wan, "Does that mean I can be a Jedi?"

The Jedi Master nodded, "You're very strong in the force, actually." He smiled warmly at the girl, who returned it with a trace of determination, "How did you meet Captain Solo then?"

"Met him when I was four," She shrugged, looking back at her companion, "When my parents were killed he took me up, I had to move to the Traders Luck with him and Garris Shrike, and we were forced to be child slaves for him, and we were beaten, barely fed, all sorts. Shrike was always an asshole, always drunk. Finally, we escaped and became smugglers, but Solo here ended up getting a bounty on his head, so we've just been roaming the galaxy, staying away from Imps and Bounty hunters."

Han was suddenly uneasy, as he didn't like talking about his past with Shrike, but Elle couldn't just avoid it all her life, it wasn't in her nature.

His uneasiness was turned into embarrassment when Luke asked the most stupid question possible; "Are you two.. Together?"

"No!" Elle immediately frowned, and Han nearly choked on his own spit, "I'm only eighteen. Solo's like my big brother."

"Eighteen?" Luke exclaimed, "I thought you'd at least be the same age as me."

"What, you're older than me?"

"By a year, yeah."

"I'm way more mature than you."

"Hey!"

Elle narrowed her eyes, "I was forced to grow up when I was nine, Skywalker. You're still growing up, obviously."

The tension was interrupted by Obi-Wan, "Are you interested in being a Jedi?"

The blonde immediately nodded, "I want to make my parents proud."

"Good." The Jedi master smiled, "In that case, Luke, carry on with your exercises, and Elle, take note."


	3. ANH 3

"Stand by, Chewie, here we go." Han ordered, "Cut in the sunlight engines."

The white streaks of light then came back to the stars, however the Falcon immediately started to shudder as meteors surrounded the ship.

"Is this even Alderaan?!" Elle asked from behind him.

"Seems like we've come out of hyperspace into a meteor shower. Some kind of asteroid collision, I'm guessing. It's not on any of the charts though."

Luke then entered the cockpit and sat down next to Elle, "What's going on?" He asked.

"Our position is correct, except.." Han started, trailing off mid sentence.

"Alderaan isn't even there." Elle finished for him, obviously not amused by the mess they were in.

The farm boy frowned, "What do you mean?" He asked once again, "Where is it?"

Han turned back to him, obviously getting impatient with the farm boy's inability to get the gist of something, "That's what I'm trying to tell you, kid. It ain't there, it's been totally blown away."

Again, with more questions, Luke leaned forward to get a better look, "What? How?"

Before any of the three could answer, Ben entered the cockpit behind them and answered, "Destroyed, by the empire."

Elle snorted and Han raised an eyebrow, "The entire starfleet couldn't destroy the whole planet. It'd take a thousand ships with more fire power than I've.." Again, the ex-smuggler trailed off as a flashing light started on the control panel in front of him, "There's another ship coming in." Han told the others, trying to mask his alarm.

"Maybe they know what happened," Luke suggested, however Ben shook his head, "It's an Imperial fighter." He said, causing Chewie to bark his concern. A huge explosion then burst the outside of the viewport, and shook the ship violently. After, a small TIE fighter came into view, flying past the Falcon.

"Well, this is just great." Elle said dryly, a sarcastic edge to her voice.

"It followed us!" Luke exclaimed, fear evident in his voice.

Again, Ben shook his head, "No, it's a short range fighter."

"There aren't and bases around here." Han frowned, "Where did it come from?"

"How the hell do you expect us to know?" Elle retorted, folding her arms.

Luke sighed, "It sure is leaving in a big hurry. If they identify us, we're in big trouble."

"Not if I can help it." Han said with determination, "Chewie, jam the transmissions."

"It'd be as well to let it go." Ben said wisely, "It's too far out of range."

"Not for long.."

Elle rolled her eyes, "Don't do anything stupid, Solo."

"Hey, it's me." He smirked, focusing on the imperial fighter.

"A fighter that size couldn't get this deep into space on its own." The Jedi Master frowned, deep in thought.

"It must have gotten lost, been part of a convoy or something." Luke shrugged.

Elle however, was not so sure, "I have a feeling that it's not that simple."

"Well, he ain't gonna be around long enough to tell anyone about us."

The it became clear where the fighter was heading to, as a small circle came into view, "Look at him," Luke pointed, "He's headed for that small moon."

"I think I can get him before he gets there.." Han shrugged, "He's almost in range."

As the 'small moon' got closer, it was clear that it was no moon at all; something much worse.

"That's no moon." Ben cringed visibly, "It's a space station."

"I have a very bad feeling about this." Luke said, not taking his eyes off of the space station.

Elle snapped around to look at him, her blue eyes blazing. He had just shrugged the whole thing off as something else, when she had the instinct to sense something was off about the situation, but now that it was clear that the group was in danger, he was agreeing; the blonde definitely didn't like Luke Skywalker, "Oh, it's probably just part of a convoy." She mimicked him, "Sure have a change of heart now, don'tcha?" Elle added, not even caring about the dirty look he was shooting at her.

"Shut up," Han ordered, deep in concentration, "Both of you. But I think you're right about that, kid. Full reverse! Chewie, lock in the auxiliary power."

When nothing happened, Luke got worried, "Why are we still moving towards it?"

"We're caught in a tractor beam!" Han cursed, "It's pulling us in!"

"There's gotta be something you can do."

Elle rolled her eyes at his naiveness, "Have you ever been in space before, farm boy?"

Luke glared at her, "No."

"It's goddamn noticeable." The blonde muttered under her breath, out of earshot.

Ben put a hand on Han's shoulder as he frantically tried to turn the Falcon around, "You can't win, but there are alternatives to fighting."

Han grimaced as his precious ship was pulled into the docking bay of the imperial space station.

"Quick," The Corellian ordered, "follow me."

The others obeyed and followed Han into the main corridor of the ship, and watched as he lifted two of the floor boards up, "Get in." He motioned for them, "Chewie, Old man, come in with me. Kid, Elle, get in that one. The droids are already in there."

If they would have had more time, Elle would have protested, but she knew that Imps would be in there within moments, so she hopped in after Luke and closed the floor board on top of them, and within seconds they were surrounded by darkness.

"You're leaning on my leg." Luke whispered, his usual whiny voice.

Elle rolled her eyes, glad that he couldn't see her, "Do you want me to kick it?"

"No?"

"Then shut the hell up."

Luke was planning to shoot back, however the sound of footsteps came from above them, so he reluctantly obeyed the blonde's orders.

After the footsteps were gone, Elle immediately pushed the floorboard back up and jumped up out of it, Luke following her after lifting Threepio and Artoo out.

"What the hell have you gotten us into?" Elle turned to Obi-Wan, who shrugged.

"This was meant to be a trip to Alderaan."

Han huffed and stood up, cracking his fingers.

"It's lucky you had those compartments." Luke said to him.

The Corellian shrugged, "I used them for smuggling, I never thought I'd be smuggling myself in them." He sighed, "This is ridiculous! Even if I could take off id never get past the tractor beam."

"Leave that to me." Ben told him, somewhat determined, it did not give the smuggler any more confidence however.

"Damn fool, I knew you were going to say that."

The Jedi Master flashed him a small smile, "Who's more foolish, the fool or the fool that follows him?"

His remark was met by a shake of the head and a roll of the eyes from Han, a frown from Elle, and a smirk from Luke.

The sound of more footsteps alarmed all of the fugitives, who thought they were out of trouble.

"What now?" Luke whined, fear evident in his innocent, sky blue eyes.

"Looks like we'll have to snap a few necks." Han grimaced slightly, he wasn't a cold blooded killer, but it was necessary in the situation, "There are four of them I think."

Before they could even discuss tactics, a voice came from behind them, "Hey, stop right there!"

The group turned around to see four storm troopers with their blasters held up.

Han and Elle immediately reached for their blasters, however Luke just stood there not knowing what to do.

Chewbacca tackled two of the troopers to the ground, effectively snapping their necks as only a Wookiee could, as Ben used the force to miraculously take the blasters out of the two remaining stormtroopers hands, leading Han and Elle to tackle them, and snap their necks just as their co-pilot had.

Luke was surprised as he watched the petite blonde attack the storm trooper with as much strength as Han, who was eleven years older than her, and male. Yes, she was obviously a Corellian, but Luke knew that not every Corellian woman could take out a storm trooper single-handedly with her hands as her only weapon.

Han then ripped the uniforms off of the troopers, slinging the identical bodies to the side, and handed Luke one of them.


	4. ANH 4

"Between his howling and your blasting everything in sight," Luke snapped at Han as they entered the command office, the door closing behind them, "It's a wonder the whole station doesn't know we're here!"

Han shrugged dismissively, "Bring 'em on, I prefer a straight fight to all this sneakin' around."

Elle rolled her eyes, "It's a miracle that we've even gotten this far, Skywalker." She replied, looking around at the command office, "The Empire sure is fancy." She added, eyeing the various control panels that made the Falcon's look like scrap metal.

Luke again, glared at the blonde, not wanting to get into another argument with her, they hadn't got much time.

Threepio, being efficient for once, got the groups attention, "We've found the computer terminal, sir."

Obi-Wan nodded, and immediately started feeding information to the terminal.

Elle, Luke, Han and Chewie leant over his shoulder to see a map of the Death Star, none of them knowing what to look for. However Artoo started whistling with some sense of urgency, "He says he's found the main computer to power the tractor beam that's holding the ship here. He'll try and get the precise location up on the monitor." Threepio translated for the little astromech droid.

Sure enough, the monitor flashed and the location came up.

The Jedi Master then took a few moments to study the schematics, before turning back to the group, who were waiting for his orders, "I don't think any of you can help me. I must go alone." He concluded.

Han raised his eyebrows, "Whatever you say. I've done more than I bargained for on this trip anyway."

Luke grew slightly uneasy, "I want to go with you." He announced, a flicker of determination in his eyes that made Elle smile, it reminded her of herself, and Obi-Wan of her parents, and Anakin Skywalker.

Obi-Wan shook his head, "Be patient, Luke, stay here and watch over the droids." He ordered, before turning to address the whole group, "They must be delivered safely, or other star systems will suffer the same terrible fate as Alderaan."

Luke still looked doubtful, and Ben put a hand on his shoulder, "Your destiny lies along a different path than mine." He told him, before putting his other hand on Elle's shoulder, who was stood next to him, "Remember, the Force will be with you, always."

He was met by two warm smiles from his short-term, but strong apprentices, and smiled back, before silently exiting the command office, hand instinctively on his lightsaber hilt.

Chewbacca's long howl broke the silence, making Han laugh, shaking his head, "Boy, you said it, Chewie," He agreed with his co-pilot, before turning to Luke, "Where the hell did you dig up that old fossil?"

Both Elle and Chewie laughed, Luke, however was not to pleased, "Ben is a great man."

The Corellian pilot scoffed, "Yeah, great at getting us into trouble.."

Luke soon got agitated, "Well I don't hear you giving any ideas."

"Anything would be better than hanging around for him to pick us up."

"Who do you think you are?" Luke started.

Elle sighed loudly enough to get the two boy's attention, "Shut up, both of you, this isn't the time to be.." She trailed off at the sound of Artoo's excited whistles.

"What is it?" The farm boy asked, more to Threepio than to Artoo.

The gold droid looked down at his counterpart, "I'm not quite sure, sir." He told his master, "He says 'I found her', and keeps on repeating, 'She's here.'"

"Who has he found?"

Luke's question was met by a flurry of beeps and whistles, "Princess Leia."

Han and Elle looked at each other, with identical frowns, however Luke suddenly became excited, "The Princess? She's here?"

"I'm right here, Skywalker," Elle quipped, "No need to look too far."

Luke smiled slightly, however Han was getting irritated, "Princess? what's going on?"

Threepio talked to the smuggler like he knew who the Princess was, "Level five, detention block A-A23. I'm afraid she's been scheduled to be terminated."

The farm boy shook his head, "We've got to do something."

Han shook his head, "Oh no, I'm not going anywhere."

Elle rolled her eyes, "You're such a lazy nerf-herder, you wanna just wait 'till we get discovered? The Imps won't take long to find us."

Relieved that someone was finally on his side, Luke gave a grateful glance to the blonde, "Exactly! They're going to execute her, a few minutes ago you said you didn't want to wait around to get captured, now all you want to do is wait."

Han snorted, sitting down on one of the chairs, putting his feet up on the control panels, "Marching into the detention area is not what I had in mind."

"But they're going to kill her!"

"Better her than me.."

Luke, shocked by the man's selfishness, tried a different approach, "She's rich."

Han's eyebrows shot up, "Rich?"

Satisfied he had his attention, Luke continued, "Yes, rich, powerful." He goaded him, "If you were to rescue her, the reward would be.."

"What?"

Elle, concerned with the time that they were wasting, finished for him, "A lot, Solo," She sighed in exasperation, "she's a goddamn Princess." The blonde couldn't help but add, with a bit of bitterness, and.. jealousy? Elle had no idea why she was jealous, but hey, she was a worthless Corellian orphan, she may have a lot in the looks department, but that was nothing compared to a Princess.

Han huffed moodily, and got up out of his seat, grabbing his blaster, "I better get this reward."

Luke smiled triumphantly, "You will." He promised.

"Alright, kid, but you'd better be right about this."


	5. ANH 5

Luke, Elle, Han and Chewie entered the elevator, Elle and Chewie with binders on, Luke and Han in their stormtrooper helmets.

"I can't see a thing in this helmet." Luke moaned, tapping the side of the pristine white mask.

Elle laughed, "Use the Force then."

The farm boy smiled, liking the Corellian girl a lot more, "Of course."

Han, however, was not engaging in the lighthearted laugh the two younger renegades were having, "This is never going to work." He grumbled.

"Why didn't you say so before?" Luke challenged.

"I did say before!" Han retorted.

"Shut up," Elle ordered them both, "We're nearly there."

The elevator door suddenly opened to the detention level, where three officers turned to look at the rather mismatched quartet.

The presumably highest ranking of the three, stepped forward with his hands behind his back, "Where are you taking this.. thing?" He asked, looking sourly at Chewie, and then to Elle, "And this.. girl?"

The blonde narrowed her eyes, she was eighteen, and practically an adult, not a little girl. Chewie was also displeased, and started to growl, before being elbowed discreetly by Han in an effort to get the Wookiee to shut up.

"Prisoner transfer from block 1138." Luke improvised.

The officer scowled, "I wasn't notified, I'll have to clear it."

The group knew that this plan wasn't going to work, so they settled for plan B. Han and Luke subtly undid Elle's and Chewie's binders, before suddenly reaching for their blasters and blasting every camera in sight, and the guards.

Han waltzed over to the control panel, throwing Elle and Chewbacca two of the deceased officer's blasters, "We've got to find which cell this Princess of yours is in." He yelled, scanning the information, "Here it is.. Cell 2187. You go get her! Me, Blondie and Chewie'll hold 'em off here."

Luke nodded and hurried off down the hall.

Han then answered the buzzing comlink on the control panel, "Everything is under control." He said into the comm, in an attempt to sound official, "Situation normal."

Elle had to control her laughter at her best friend's cringy attempt to sound like an imperial officer, _he did get kicked out of the Academy, after all,_ she thought to herself.

"What happened?" A voice answered him.

Han then got nervous, not knowing what to say, "Uh.. Had a slight weapons malfunction. But uh, everything's perfectly alright now. We're fine." He paused for a second, before saying, "How are you?" Only after creasing at the completely unprofessional question he'd just asked.

"You're such a laser brain, Solo." Elle muttered as she and Chewie held up their blasters to the elevator door, preparing for stormtroopers.

"We're sending a squad up." The voice disregarded Han's stupid question.

The Corellian mentally cursed himself, "Uh, negative. We have a reactor leak down here now. Give us a few minutes to lock it down. Large leak... Very dangerous." He stuttered, making up a flimsy excuse.

The intercom voice had obviously realised that Han was no Imperial officer, "Who is this? What's your operating number?"

Having no other choice, the smuggler then blasted the control panel, "Boring conversation anyway." He mumbled to himself, before turning to Luke down the hall and yelling, "Luke! We're gonna have company!"

The farm boy nodded, quickening his pace down the hall.

Han then raced over to Elle and grabbed her by the arm, "Get back! Down there and don't get yourself killed!" He ordered, sounding like an overprotective brother.

Reluctantly, Elle backed away to the edge of the hallway, with her blaster still at the ready, as Han and Chewie joined her.

Sure enough, the troopers started flooding through the elevator door, and t blaster fire started immediately. Although Han didn't want to admit it, the eighteen year old girl was more than capable with holding her own in a fight and with a blaster, he just didn't want to seem her get hurt.

"Get behind me!" Han shouted to his companion above all of the loud laser fire.

Elle did so, Han effectively shielding her but allowing her to fire at the troopers still.

The two, and Chewie then ran further down the hall, where they met Luke, and presumably the Princess. She was small, smaller than Elle with dark brown hair that was scraped back into two large buns on either side of her head, and she was clad in a white, long sleeved dress that made her look like some sort of angel. She was the opposite of Elle, who was still equally as beautiful, but different nevertheless, with her scruffy Corellian look and lack of dresses, as well as her blonde curly locks plaited messily over her shoulder.

"Can't get out that way." Han told the two new arrivals, who had obviously been rushing to the elevator.

The Princess looked agitated, "Well, looks like you cut off our only escape route."

"Well maybe you'd like to get back in your cell, Your Highness." Han shot back, his voice dripping with sarcasm.

The group continued to fight back at the growing number of stormtroopers, as Luke got out his comlink and attempted to contact Threepio, "Yes sir?" The droids voice came through.

"We've been cut off! Are there any other ways out of the cell bay?" Luke asked, praying that there was.

"I'm afraid the whole station has been alerted to your presence. The main entrance seems to be the only way out." Threepio replied.

Luke cursed and put the comm back, "There isn't any other way out!" He informed the group, who weren't taking their eyes off of the battle.

"Fantastic!" Elle exclaimed dryly, her sarcasm identical to Han's.

"We can't hold them off for much longer! Now what?" The smuggler called loudly over the noise.

"This is some rescue." The Princess piped up, "When you came in here, didn't you have a plan for getting out?"

Han just nodded to Luke, "He's the brains, Sweetheart!"

The Alderaanian then huffed loudly and grabbed Luke's blaster, blasting a hole into a sort of shaft nearby.

"What in the nine hells are you doing?" Han yelled at her.

"Saving our skins, into the garbage shoot, flyboy." She ordered, before jumping down the shaft.

Chewbacca then approached the shoot, and sniffed it, growling disapprovingly, "Get in there, you big furry oaf!" Han shoved the Wookiee into a crouching position, "I don't care what you smell!"

He then kicked his co-pilot down, Luke then preparing himself to get in, "Lovely girl!" Han said to him, raw sarcasm coming through once again, "Either I'm going to kill her or I'm beginning to like her. Get in!"

Luke laughed slightly, before jumping down the shaft.

Elle then approached the shaft, "This Princess is almost as whiny as Luke." She remarked with a smirk, making Han laugh, before recklessly diving into the shaft, Han following her down.

* * *

"Oh! The garbage shoot was a really good idea. What a wonderful smell you've discovered!" Han again mocked the Princess's decision with his signature sarcasm, who glared at him, only because she hated to admit he was right, "Let's get out of here.." The Corellian drew out his blaster.

Luke saw what he was about to do, and held out his hand, "No, wait!"

But it was too late, Han fired his blaster, causing the laser fire to bounce uncontrollably around the garbage room, the whole group ducking.

The farm boy shook his head, "Will he forget it! I already tried it, it's magnetically sealed."

"Put that thing away!" The brunette Princess commanded, "You're going to get us all killed!"

Han looked to the Princess, "Absolutely, Your Worship." He mocked her once again, "Look, I had everything under control until you led us down here. You know, it's

not going to take them long to figure out what happened to us."

The Princess looked down, "It could have been worse." She defended herself, although without the usual confidence.

Just as she said it, a worrying, inhumane moaning sound echoed around the room.

"It's worse." Elle winced at the sound.

Luke spun around him, "There's something alive in here!"

Han waved a hand dismissively, "That's just your imagination."

"Something just moved past my leg!"

"Where?"

Suddenly, Luke was yanked under the murky water beneath them, causing the two females in the metal room to yelp in fear.

"Luke!" Elle raced to the spot that he was just in, frantically splashing around to try and find him.

"Luke?" Han yelled to him, as nothing happened.

Then suddenly, the young Jedi in training surfaced, a tentacle like arm wrapped closely around his neck.

"Luke!" Leia yelled as Elle and Han attempted to get the creature off of him.

"Blast it will you!" He managed to choke out.

Han then aimed his blaster, but was unsure about where to blast it, "Where?"

"Anywhere!" Luke shouted back.

Han then fired one shot at the creature, and it immediately slivered off of him.

Elle grabbed him, struggling to hoist him to his feet as his white armour was so slippery.

Despite his gasping for air and temporary trauma, Luke managed to smile at the blonde, "You were worried about me."

Elle was caught off guard when she realized he had sensed her emotion and worry about him. But she didn't have any time to answer, as suddenly the walls off the room shuddered.

"I've got a very bad feeling about this." Han remarked as the room went deadly silent.

His feelings were then backed up as the walls started moving towards the group.

"The walls are moving!"

"No shit!" Elle shot back at Luke, however it wasn't her usual venom of irritation at him, it was lighthearted, almost banter.

The Princess was obviously terrified, "Don't just stand there!" She yelled, "Try and brace it with something!"

Elle, Han and Chewie helped her with bracing various metal poles against the walls, whilst Luke got out his comm, and raised Threepio once again.

"Threepio?" He yelled into it, "Come in Threepio!"

"One things for sure, we're all gonna be a lot thinner when this is over." Han remarked dryly as the walls were getting dangerously close.

"Are you there sir?" The droids voice came through.

"Threepio!"

"I'm afraid we ran into some trouble.."

Luke cut him off, "Will you just shut up and listen to me! Shut down all the garbage mashers on the detention level, do you hear me?"

It took a few moments, but to the utter relief of the whole group, the walls stopped dead. And they all were yelling and hollering to celebrate.

"Thanks, Threepio!" Luke said into the comlink once he was done with celebrations, "Now open the maintenance hatch on unit number.. 326827."

Sure enough, within a few moments the only exit from the room was open, and the group were cleaning off the rubbish that had clung to them.

"What's your name again?" Elle asked the Princess as Luke and Han got out of their trooper armour.

She looked up briefly, "Leia." She answered, speaking more kindly to her than she had done the entire time she'd been with the group.

"Nice to meet you." Elle smiled warmly, deciding that she may as well make a friend out of the Princess, as she was one of the only women she'd ever worked with.

Han then joined Elle's side, "If we can just avoid any more female advice, we ought to be able to get

out of here." He said cockily, earning a roll of the eyes from both Elle and Leia.

Luke smiled and scratched his head as Solo handed each of them a blaster.

"Well, let's get moving!"

However, Chewie began to growl and pointed to the hatch to the garbage room, running away.

Han frowned at his co-pilot, "Where are you going?"

The Wookie banged against the hatch and a long, slimy tentacle worked its way out of the doorway, searching for a victim. Han aimed his pistol.

"No, wait." Leia started to stop him, "They'll hear!"

Ignoring her, Han fired at the doorway, making the noise of the blast echo relentlessly throughout the empty passageway. Luke simply shook his head in shock at how reckless and careless his new companion was.

Ignoring the disapproving glares from the three humans, Han gestured for the Wookiee to join him, "Come here, you big coward!

Chewie shook his head.

Leia grew impatient, and turned Han to face her, pointing a finger at him, "Listen. I don't know who you are, or

where you came from," She told him, holding a commanding gaze, "But from now on, you do as I tell you. Okay?"

Han was rendered speechless for a few seconds but soon got his arrogance back, matching her stare,

"Look, Your Worshipfulness, let's get one thing straight! I take orders from one person! Me!"

"It's a wonder you're still alive." The Princess remarked, before turning to leave, however she was stopped by the towering figure of Chewbacca, "Will someone get this big walking carpet out of my way?" She asked, pushing past him.

Han joined Chewie as he followed her, "No reward is worth this."

Elle and Luke merely smiled knowingly at each other, and followed behind.


	6. ANH 6

Luke, Elle, Han, Chewbacca, and Leia ran down an empty hallway and

stopped before a bay window overlooking the Falcon. Troopers

were milling about the ship. Luke then sighed and took out his comlink, knowing that he'd have to contact Threepio for the third time.

"There she is." Han said proudly, looking down at his ship.

"C-3PO, do you copy?" Luke asked into the comm.

"For the moment." The gold droid's voice came back, "Uh, we're in the

main hangar across from the ship." He informed his master.

"We're right above you. Stand by."

Han watched the dozen or so troops move in and out of his ship. Leia moved towards Han, touched arm and pointed out the window to the ship, "You came in that thing? You're braver that I thought." She smiled approvingly.

Han looked incredibly smug at her compliment, however didn't have time to relish it, so he got up, "Nice! Now come on!"

The group of renegades then started off down the hallway. They rounded a corner and ran right into twenty

Imperial stormtroopers heading toward them. Both sides were obviously taken by surprise and stopped in their tracks.

One smart trooper then realised who they were, "It's them! Blast them!" He ordered.

Before even thinking, Han drew his blaster and charged the troops, firing at them. His blaster knocked one of the stormtroopers into the air, causing it two go flying into the wall. Chewie followed his captain down

the corridor, stepping over the fallen trooper on the floor.

"Get back to the ship!" Han yelled back to the rest of the group.

Elle started after him, "I'm coming with you!" She declared, readying her blaster.

Han then stopped, and put a hand on her shoulder, "Get back to the ship." He told her gently, but firmly, before speeding off with Chewie, yelling some sort of battle cry as he did.

Luke then jogged to her side, calling after Han, "Where are you going?Come back!"

However the smuggler was already gone, and was not coming back.

Leia then joined the two, a hint of admiration on her face, "He certainly has courage." She remarked.

Luke snorted, "What good will it do us if he gets himself killed?" He returned, "Come on!"

Luke, Elle and Leia raced through the hatch onto a narrow bridge that spanned a huge, deep shaft that seemed to go into infinity. The bridge had been retracted into the wall of the shaft, and Luke almost rushed into the abyss. He lost his balance

off the end of the bridge as Leia and Elle behind him took hold of his arm and pulled him back.

"I think we took a wrong turn." He remarked dryly.

Blasts from the stormtroopers' laser guns exploded nearby reminding the trio that they didn't have much time. Luke and Elle fired back at the advancing troops as Leia reached over and hit a switch that popped the hatch door shut with a resounding boom, leaving them precariously perched on a short piece of bridge overhang.

Laser fire from the troopers continued to hit the steel door.

Leia was still frantically scanning the control panel, before turning to the other two, "There's no lock!"

Luke then blasted the controls with his weapon, "That oughta hold it for a while." He shrugged.

"We're at a dead end." Elle looked around, pondering whether she would rather jump to her death or get pelted by laser fire from stormtroopers.

"Quick, we've got to get across. Find the control that extends the bridge." Leia told Luke, who was standing nearest the control panel.

"Oh, I think I just blasted it." Luke looked at the blasted bridge control while stormtroopers on the opposite side of the door began to make ominous drilling and pounding sounds.

"Kriff!" Elle cursed under her breath as she looked up to find that there were other open doors.

"They're coming through!" Leia exclaimed.

Luke then noticed something on his stormtrooper belt, when laser fire hit the wall behind them. Luke aimed his blaster at a stormtrooper perched on a higher bridge overhang across

the abyss from them. They exchanged fire before two more troopers appeared on another overhang, also firing straight away.

"Elle, help me out!" Luke yelled to his blonde companion, who drew out her blaster and joined him in the laser fire.

As the troopers moved back off the bridge, Luke handed his blaster to Leia.

"Here, hold this." He instructed her.

The farm boy then pulled a thin nylon cable from his trooper utility belt that had a grappler hook on it. Another four troopers appeared on a bridge overhang and fired at the trio.

As Luke worked with the rope, Leia and Elle returned the laser volley with the storm troopers.

Suddenly, the hatch door began to open, revealing the feet of more troopers.

"Here they come!" Elle yelled not taking her eyes off of her targets.

Luke tossed the rope across the

gorge and it wrapped itself around an outcropping of pipes. He tugged on the rope to make sure it was secure, then grabbed the Princess around the waist. Leia looked at Luke, then kissed him quickly on the lips, "For luck!" She added, enjoying the surprise on his face.

Luke then looked back to Elle, "I'll be back for you in a minute." He told her, before pushing off of the bridge hangar, swinging across the treacherous abyss to the corresponding hatchway on the opposite side. As soon as they landed, Luke let go of Leia, "Wait here." He told her, before swinging back to the other side.

"Here so soon?" Elle chided as she returned laser fire to the troopers above her.

Luke laughed and slid his arms around her waist. She looked at him, "There isn't such thing as luck," The. Blonde said, using Ben Kenobi's words to mock Leia, "But here's a kiss anyway." She added, grabbing his chin and kissing him on the lips, before pulling away.

Luke laughed at her, as well as being pleased with himself for getting kissed by two of the Galaxy's most beautiful women in the space of two minutes, before pushing off the hatch once again and swinging across to the other platform, where Leia was still waiting.

Letting go of both Elle and the rope, Luke took his blaster back from Leia, "Let's keep moving."


	7. ANH 7

Luke, Leia and Elle managed to find Han and Chewie, who were leaning against the wall, surveying the hangar that their precious ship was in.

"What kept you?" Han asked dryly.

Leia just shrugged, "Ran into some old friends."

"Is the ship alright?" Luke asked, anxious to get off of the space station.

"Seems okay, if we can get to her. Let's just hope the old man got the tractor beam out of commission."

"Well let's get off of this death trap, then." Elle patted her best friend on the shoulder.

"Alright, alright."

Out of the ordinary, the troopers in the hangar started running to their right.

"Look!" Luke pointed to the imperials.

Han turned to the group, "Now's our chance, go!"

They all started running to the unoccupied Falcon, however Luke and Elle stopped to see blue and red lightsabers clashing on the other side of the hangar, and it was Obi-Wan fighting against none other than Darth Vader.

The Jedi Master took a moment to look at his last two students, realising that there was no way he was going to get out of his situation being surrounded by stormtroopers.

So, being the selfless Jedi he was, Kenobi raised his lightsaber in line with his body, in a last act of defiance, and became one with the Force as Vader's red blade swung sideways.

"No!" Both Luke and Elle screamed, accidentally diverting attention to them both.

Laser fire suddenly started, and the black figure that was Vader began to storm towards them, only to be stopped by the blast doors shutting in front of him.

"Come on, Luke! Elle!" Han yelled to the two, who were stood rooted to the spot.

Leia then came back to the top of the ramp, "It's too late! Come on!"

Reluctantly, Elle grabbed Luke by the hand, taking a moment to look at him with a look of utter despair on her face, before dragging him into the Falcon as the ramp closed behind them.

Chewie and Han raced to the cockpit, and got the Falcon up and out of the hangar, thanks to Ben disarming the tractor beam.

Luke and Elle sat down in the passengers lounge next to Leia, who looked at them with sympathy.

"I can't believe he's gone." Luke said quietly, staring at the table.

Elle sighed and leaned her head on Luke's shoulder, suddenly physically and emotionally drained from the whole experience. Luke didn't pull away, which surprised Elle.

"There's nothing you could have done." Leia said softly, not really knowing what else to say.

Disrupting the mourning, Han rushed into the lounge, alarm clear on his face, "Come on, kid, we're not out of this yet!" He told Luke, "Man the guns, Elle, take my place in the cockpit, I don't trust Chewie."

Elle nodded, a serious, determined expression on her face, as she and Leia raced to the cockpit, whilst Han and Luke headed for the gunports.

"Here they come!" Elle said into the intercom so Luke and Han could hear her, "Stay sharp!"

TIE's then swarmed around the Falcon, as Elle effortlessly piloted the ship in and out of the TIE's laser fire whilst Chewie diligently assisted her.

"They're coming in too fast!" Luke said into his headset.

The Falcon then shuddered as it got hit very near the cockpit.

"We've lost lateral controls, Solo!" Elle informed the captain.

Han's cool, laid back voice came through, "Don't worry, she'll hold together."

Han was the first to hit a TIE, but was soon followed by Luke, who was proud of his first kill.

"I got him!" Luke cried victoriously.

"Great, Kid! Don't get cocky." Han told him, being more than a hypocrite.

Elle scoffed, "That's goddamn rich coming from you, Solo!"

"Shut up!"

"There's still two more of them out there!"

Luke then got another TIE, followed by Han making the last blow.

Everyone on the ship did a victory yell, punching their fists in the air.

Elle hugged Chewie, before turning to Leia, who was sat behind her, beaming that she'd actually escaped the hell hole that was the Death Star, and hugged her too.

Later on, Luke and Elle walked into the cockpit, passing an angry looking Leia, "Your friend is quite a mercenary. I wonder if he really cares about anything... or anyone." She remarked.

"Well, he's cared about me for fourteen years." Elle muttered under her breath.

"I care!" Luke called after her, making Elle roll her eyes.

Luke ignored the blondes disapproval, as they both entered the cockpit, Elle sitting in the co-pilots seat, Luke taking his place behind her.

The three stared out at the vast blackness of space for a second, before Luke broke the silence, "So... what do you think of her?" He asked.

"I'm trying not to, kid!" Han sighed, leaning back in his seat and propping his legs up on the control panel.

Elle laughed, "I like her, she's got some goddamn balls, doing what she's done. A Princess, Senator, and Rebel Leader."

Han paused, considering his best friend's words, "Yeah, she's got a lot of spirit. I don't know, what do you think? Do you think a princess and a guy like me..."

Elle was about to answer, however Luke cut her off with an immediate answer of, "No." He said bluntly, looking away.

Han looked to Elle, and smirked at the farm boy's obvious jealousy.

The blonde rolled her eyes, getting up and patting both men on the shoulder, "Well, I guess I'll leave you both to discuss the little love triangle you're in." And with that, she left, not willing to show her jealousy that both men were mooning over the Princess.


	8. ANH 8

"This is genius." Elle said to Leia as they were guided through Yavin 4 on a speeder, "It's remote, but the Temple still gives you the recourses you need."

Leia nodded, "It was one of the Alliance's best bases. It's a shame we'll have to evacuate."

The blonde looked down, knowing that she was partly responsible for the tracking of the Falcon.

Leia looked to her, "Are you going to join Luke on the Death Star run?" She asked, "We could use an amazing pilot like you, not to mention you're a woman, so it'd be nice for a change."

Elle laughed, "I-I dunno. I really want to do this. You know, join the Rebellion and all. But.. I know Han won't, and I can't imagine not being with him."

"Why?"

Obviously Leia didn't know their history, so Elle looked over her shoulder to where Han, Chewie and Luke were sitting, "I met him on the streets of Corellia when I was four. My parents were killed by Darth Vader when I was nine, and he looked after me ever since."

Leia put a hand on her shoulder, "I'm sorry." She said sincerely, "Vader is a monster, I can understand why you want to join, but I can also understand why you're hesitating."

"I think I will join, and do the run with Luke, but it'll just be weird without Solo, I guess."

The Princess gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze as the speeder pulled into the great, towering temple, "You'll be a great asset to the Alliance, Elle."

The blonde Corellian smiled, "Thanks."

The group jumped off of the speeder and followed Leia into the temple, where they were greeted by a Commander, he hugged Leia, obviously relieved to see her safe, "You're safe! We had feared the worse." The stepped back after a moment, "When we heard about Alderaan we were afraid you were.. Lost, along with your father."

Leia showed brief sadness for a second, however her face hardened straight away, "We don't have time for our sorrows, Commander. The battle station has surely tracked us here." She looked back to Han pointedly, "It's the only explanation for the ease of our escape. You must use the information in this R2 unit to plan the attack. It is our only hope."

The Commander nodded, motioning for his soldiers to take Artoo, "My men will get right to it." And with that, he hurried off.

Han turned to Elle and Chewie, "Well, let's get this reward and get outta here." He grinned.

Chewie roared, however Elle looked back to Leia, who nodded, "I'm staying here, Han."

The smuggler immediately frowned, "What? You can't."

"Yes I can, Solo." The blonde countered, "I'm eighteen now, and this is the path I want to take. I'm joining the Rebellion with Luke."

Hurt registered on Han's face, "You do realise, I'm not stickin' around."

Elle nodded, "Yeah, i know that. I want to make my parents proud, Han. This is the way to do it."

He just waved a hand dismissively, "Whatever, come on, Chewie. Let's get this reward and go." He told his co-pilot, not even looking at Elle one last time before they walked off to the Falcon.

Elle stared after him, open mouthed at how coldly he had just treated her.

Luke came behind her, putting a hand on her shoulder, "He doesn't understand, Elle. You're doing the right thing, I promise you."

The blonde pulled Luke into an embrace, because she needed one after being to cruelly treated by the man that was basically her brother, "Thank you, Luke."

The farm boy had thought that they were getting along much better than they had when they first met, but was taken by surprise when her arms flew around him. He returned the embrace, not really knowing what to say.

Elle finally pulled back, and turned to Leia, "Show us where we need to go." She told her, a new found determination burning in her deep blue eyes.

Leia grinned, taking her hand and showing her and Luke where to go.

* * *

The two new Rebels found themselves in a cramped conference room, and were the only two not in the orange flight suits worn by the rest of the Rebels.

General Dodonna, the leader of the base, addressed the entire room, "The battle station is heavily shielded and carries a firepower greater than half the star fleet. It's defences are designed around a direct large-scale assault. A small one-man fighter should be able to penetrate the outer defence."

The leader of gold squadron frowned, and addressed the General, "Pardon me for asking, sir, but what good are snub fighters going to be against that?"

Dodonna smiled slightly, "Well, the Empire doesn't consider a small one-man fighter to be any threat, or they'd have a tighter defence. An analysis of the plans provided by Princess Leia has demonstrated a weakness in the battle station." He told them, before continuing with the briefing, "The approach will not be easy. You are required to manoeuvre straight down this trench and skim the surface to this point. The target area is only two meters wide. It's a small thermal exhaust port, right below the main port. The shaft leads directly to the reactor system. A precise hit will start a chain reaction which should destroy the station."

Murmurs of disbelief and doubt ran through the room, even Elle was unsure it was even possible.

The Rebel Leader waited until the chat had died down, before continuing once again, "Only a precise hit will set up a chain reaction. The shaft is ray-shielded, so you'll have to use proton torpedoes."

Wedge Antilles, the pilot sat next to Luke, turned to him, "That's impossible, even for a computer."

Luke smiled at the pilot's negativity, "It's not impossible. I used to bull's-eye womp rats in my T-sixteen back home. They're not much bigger than two meters."

Wedge still looked unsure, but didn't offer a counter to Luke's theory anyway.

"Man your ships! And may the Force be with you!" General Dodonna told the group, before everyone started to disperse.

Elle and Luke both stood up, however Wedge grabbed Elle by the shoulder, "Novar?!"

Her eyes widened, and she flung her arms around the pilot, "Antilles! I didn't even realise it was you!"

Wedge smiled, "Well, we haven't seen each other in what? Nine years?"

The blonde smiled, "Yeah, it's been a long time, buddy."

Antilles started walking at her side, his helmet under his arm, "What are you doin' here anyway?"

"Oh, it's a long story, Wedge. But let's just say Han Solo was involved."

The pilot laughed, "I get what you're saying. It's good to see you again, Elle, you've definitely.. Filled out." He winked, obviously looking at her body, which was still exposed from the crop top and shorts she was wearing.

Luke, overhearing the conversation, came to Elle's side once Antilles had left, "You know him?"

The blonde nodded, "I went to school with him until I was nine."

Not wanting to divulge in the past, Luke changed the subject, "Let's go get our flight suits, so we can join the party."

Elle grinned and followed him to the administrator.


	9. ANH 9

Elle and Luke, in their new orange jumpsuits raced across the main hangar of the Temple to their X-Wings, only to stop to find Han slowly loading his enormous reward onto the Falcon.

"So... you got your reward and you're just leaving then?" Luke asked, sadly.

"That's right, yeah! I got some old debts I've got to pay off with this stuff. Even if I didn't, you don't think I'd be fool enough to stick around here, do you? Why don't you come with us? You're pretty good in a fight. I could use you." Han asked him, ignoring Elle's angry expression because he was trying to replace her.

Luke too was angry, and shook his head, "Come on! Why don't you take a look around? You know what's about to happen, what they're up against." He said, gesturing around at the Rebels, "They could use a good pilot like you. You're turning your back on them."

"What good's a reward if you ain't around to use it?" The smuggler replied cockily, "Besides, attacking that battle station ain't my idea of courage. It's more like suicide.

Luke sighed, knowing he wasn't getting anywhere, "All right. Well, take care of yourself, Han. I guess that's what you're best at, isn't it?"

Luke started to go, however Han stopped him, "Hey, Luke..." He said, a hint of a smile on his face, "may the Force be with you."

The farm boy nodded, before walking off to Leia.

Elle stood there, with her arms folded, only to be ignored by her best friend. She punched him on the arm, "Aren't you even gonna say goodbye to me?!"

Without even looking up, Han shrugged, "Goodbye." He replied bluntly.

The blonde growled slightly, "I thought we were better friends than that, Han. You were my best friend, brother and father! And now you're just ignoring me because I want to take a path that my parents would be proud of? And that path isn't the one that you're taking?"

For the first time, Han looked up, and sighed, "I'll just miss you. That's all."

Elle's expression softened, "Well why didn't you just tell me that in the first place?"

He shrugged, "You know me, not really one for emotional words."

The new Rebel smiled, "I'll miss you too, Solo."

"Come here." Han pulled her into a hug, "You'll do great things, I'm sure."

Elle pulled away, "I'll see you, sometime in the future, I promise."

Han nodded as his best friend began to walk away, her helmet held under her arm and her long, blonde, curly hair flowing behind her.

Elle jogged over to Luke and Leia, who were talking, "Let's get this show on the road." She grinned, getting more excited by the minute.

Leia smiled, and hugged Elle, "Good luck, I know you'll do great." She told her, before hugging Luke and giving him a brief kiss on the cheek, making his cheeks burn red.

As the Princess left the two, Elle ran a hand through her hair, "Look, Skywalker. I know that we didn't get off to the best of starts," She said, smirking slightly, "But after the whole Death Star thing, I've learnt that I was way too arrogant, and you're actually.. not that bad. So, truce?" Elle held out a hand, however was met by a one handed embrace from Luke, who pulled away after a few moments, "Truce." He laughed.

The blonde grinned, happy she'd gained another friend, "Good luck, farm boy." She told him, before kissing him softly on the lips, "And may the Force be with you."

Again, astounded by getting kissed by two beautiful women in the space of two minutes, Luke just stood, speechless as Elle strutted off to her new X-Wing.

"Who's this little fella?" Elle asked as she got into her X-Wing, a brand new, shiny R2 unit just like Luke's, but black with dark blue features being lifted into the fighter behind her.

"R6-D6." The Rebel preparing her ship told her from behind, "He's yours from now on."

"Oh, thanks." Elle said numbly as she studied the droid, "Quite a colour scheme, you've got there." She told the astromech, "You look like a big old bruise. I'll just call you bruiser."

The reply was a series of whistles that Elle understood as being accepted by the droid.

Elle laughed, "Alright, let's do this." She said to herself as her X-Wing lifted off of the ground and out of the base hangar.


	10. ANH 10

"All wings report in."

"Red Ten standing by."

"Red Nine standing by."

"Red Seven standing by."

"Red Three standing by."

"Red Six standing by."

"Red Two standing by." Wedge'a voice came through Elle's comm.

"Red Four standing by." Elle finally said into her comm.

"Red Five standing by." Luke's voice came through, finishing the report of Red Squadron.

The squadron approached the enormous space station, each Rebel growing anxious at the sight of it.

"Lock S-foils into attack position." Red Leader ordered them, each one doing so, "We're passing through their magnetic field, hold tight!"

The comm channel was silent, both Squadrons and the base on Yavin 4 speechless, only Red Leader could be heard giving orders, "Switch your deflectors on, double front!"

As the Death Star came closer, Elle could even sense the shock of the pilots who hadn't seen the monstrosity yet, "Look at the size of that thing!" Wedge exclaimed, unable to keep his opinion in.

"Cut the chatter, Two." Red Leader scolded him, "Accelerate to attack speed, this is it, boys and girl!"

Elle laughed, happy that her female presence had been acknowledged.

The two squadrons of Rebel fighters peeled off. The X-wings dived towards the Death Star surface. A thousand lights glimmered across the dark grey expanse of the huge station.

Laser fire streaked through the star-filled night. The Rebel X-wing fighters moved in toward the Imperial base, as the Death Star aimed its massive laser guns at the Rebel forces and fired.

"Heavy fire, Boss!" Wedge told his leader, "Twenty degrees."

"I see it. Stay low!"

"This is Red Five!" Luke's voice came through for the first time, "I'm going in!"

Elle looked to the side of her to see Luke's X-wing racing toward the Death Star. Lasers streaked from Luke's weapons, creating a huge explosion on the dim surface.

Even with her very limited knowledge of the Force, the blonde could sense Luke's fear as all of them realised that he wouldn't be able to pull out in time to avoid getting caught in the explosion.

"Luke, pull up!" Elle basically yelled into her comm, "Pull the hell up!"

Luke's ship then emerged from the explosion, with the leading edges of his wings slightly scorched.

"Are you all right?" A voice came through that Elle identified as Red Nine's, Biggs Darklighter's.

There was an audible sigh of relief from Luke, "I got a little cooked, but I'm okay."

"Don't do anything stupid, Skywalker." Elle told him.

"Whatever, Novar." Came back his teasing reply.

The blonde smiled and shook her head as she continued evading the fire coming from the weapons array of the Death Star.

"Luke, let me know when you're going in."

Red Leader's X-wing flew past Luke as he put his nose down and starts his attack dive.

"I'm on my way in now..."

"Watch yourself! There's a lot of

fire coming from the right side of that deflection tower."

"I'm on it."

A control officer's voice then came through the Rebel's comms, "Squad leaders, we've picked up a new group of signals. Enemy fighters

coming your way."

"My scope's negative. I don't see

anything." Luke replied.

"I have I feeling that's their plan." Elle frowned as nothing came up on her scope either.

"Keep up your visual scanning." Red Leader ordered, "With all this jamming, they'll be on top of you before your scope can pick them up."

"Pull in! Luke... pull in!" Red Nine ordered his childhood friend.

"Watch your back, Luke!" Wedge then exclaimed, "Watch your back! Fighter's above you, coming in!"

Luke's ship soared away from the Death Star's surface as he spotted the tailing TIE fighter.

The Imperial TIE fighter pilot scored a hit on Luke's ship, resulting in fire breaking out on the right side of the X-wing.

"You have everything under control, Skywalker?" Elle asked, trying to sound professional despite the twist of worry in her stomach.

"I'm hit, but not bad." Came back his determined tone, "Artoo, see what you can do with it. Hang on back there."

Elle was so worried about shaking off the Imps on her tail, that she almost froze dead in space when she heard her squadron leader's question.

"Can you see Red Five?"

The blonde looked back frantically and saw that Luke's X-Wing was nowhere to be seen, however she could still sense him in the force.

"There's a heavy fire zone on this side. Red Five, where are you?" Red Ten came back.

Suddenly Luke's shaken voice came through the comm, "I can't shake him!"

Once she had his fighter on her scopes, Elle didn't even hesitate when she swung her own X-Wing round and started after the TIE fighter that was relentlessly following Luke.

"Hang in there, Five, I'll get rid of the damn thing." She told him as the TIE fighter became closer and closer in range.

Once she had a clear shot, Elle blew the Imperial fighter into oblivion.

"Thanks, Four, I owe you one."

"No problem."

Red Leader's voice came through once again, "Gold Squadron have been completely obliterated," he told them gravely, "Rendezvous at mark six point one."

"This is Red Two. Flying toward you." Wedge told his leader.

"Red Three, standing by." Biggs said after.

"Red Leader, this is Base One. Keep half your group out of range for the next run." General Dodonna's voice came through for the first time.

"Copy, Base One." Red Leader responded, "Luke, take Red Two, Three and Elle with you. Hold up here and wait for my signal to start your run."

"I copy, Red Leader."

The X-wing fighters of Luke, Elle, Biggs, and Wedge flew in their tight formation high above the Death Star's surface.

Two X-wings moved across the surface of the Death Star. Red Leader's X-wing dropped down to the surface leading to the exhaust port, "This is it!" He exclaimed, trying to sound more excited than petrified.

Red Leader roamed down the trench of the Death Star as lasers streaked across the black heavens.

The Rebel fighters evaded the Imperial laser blasts that were threatening to send them into oblivion.

"We should be able to see it by now." Red Ten's confused voice came through Elle's comm.

"Keep your eyes open for those fighters!" Red Leader ordered.

"There's too much interference!"

Three X-wing fighters moved in formation down the Death Star

trench, "Red Four, can you see them from where you are?" Red Ten asked Elle.

The blonde frowned, looking around, "Not yet, no!"

"Wait!" Luke's fearful voice came through as Elle now caught sight of three TIE fighters heading after the X-Wings in the trench.

"Coming in point three-five."

"I see them."

"I'm in range." Red Leader's voice came through, "Targets coming up, just hold them off for a few more seconds!"

There was silence as the Leader took out his targeting computer and concentrated on getting a direct hit, "Almost there.."

"I can't hold them off!" Red Ten yelled down his comm, struggling to evade the three TIE fighters on his tail.

That was the last thing Red Ten said as his X-Wing was blown to bits.

Only taking a brief second to mourn another loss of one of his squadron members, Red Leader finally fired his shot into the exhaust port, "It's away!"

"It's a hit!" Red Nine exclaimed excitedly.

There was a loud sigh from Red Leader, "Negative, it didn't go in. It just impacted on the surface."

"Red Leader, we're right above you." Luke told his superior, "Turn to point oh-five, we'll cover you."

"Stay there, I just lost my starboard engine. Get set to make your attack run, you guys."

Before anyone could even object, Red Leader's X-Wing was then blown up into flames, only a scream echoing through everyone's comms. Immediately stepping up as a leader, Luke ordered the last remaining members of Red Squadron, "Elle, Biggs, Wedge, let's close it up. We're going in. We're going in full

throttle."

"Right behind you, Skywalker."

"Right with you, boss." Wedge replied after his long time friend.

However Biggs was not so sure about the order, "Luke, at that speed will you be able to pull out in time?"

"It'll be just like Beggar's Canyon back home." The farm boy replied with a grin.

The four X-wings moved in, unleashing a barrage of laser fire.

Laserbolts are returned from the Death Star.

"We'll stay back far enough to cover you." Elle told him, "Just try not to get yourself killed."

"I thought being selfless was a good quality."

"There's a difference between selflessness and suicide, Skywalker." The blonde laughed, "Shut up now, we have some Imps to piss off."

"My scope shows the tower, but I can't see the exhaust port! Are you sure the computer can hit it?" Wedge asked unsurely.

"Yeah, it's not impossible."

Luke looks around for the Imperial TIE fighters and then moved his targeting device into position.

"Watch yourself! Increase speed full throttle!"

"What about the tower?"

"You worry about those fighters! I'll Luke's X-wing streaked through the trench, firing lasers, the three others following behind.

"Ah, shit!" Elle cursed loudly over her comm, "My kriffin' stabiliser's broken loose again! Bruiser, see if you can lock it down!" She ordered her new blue and black companion, who set off to work with a determined whistle.

"I'm hit! I can't stay with you." Wedge's disappointed voice came through.

"Get clear, Wedge," Luke ordered, "You can't do any more good back there!"

"Sorry!"

"And then there were three." Elle muttered as she watched her friend's X-Wing pull up and out of the trench.

The three remaining X-wings sped down the trench; the three TIE fighters, still in perfect unbroken formation, tailing close behind.

"Hurry, Luke, they're coming in much faster this time. We can't hold them!"

The three TIE fighters move ever closer, closing in on Luke, Elle and Biggs.

"Artoo, try and increase the power!" The Tatooine born boy ordered his little astromech.

"Hurry the hell up, Luke!" Biggs ordered his friend as his X-Wing became dangerously close to the Imperial fighters. He then saw that one was aiming at him, and yelled, "Wait!"

And then his X-Wing also exploded into nothing.

Elle could feel Luke's anger and remorse at the loss of his friend, "Luke," She spoke softly, "Focus on the task at hand."

"You sound like Ben." He grumbled, looking ahead of him.

"Shut up and get on with it."

Luke took a deep breath and got out his targeting computer, concentrating the most he had ever done in his entire nineteen years.

However, both Luke and Elle then heard a familiar voice echoing through the force, "Use the force, Luke." Obi-Wan's voice sounded, "Let go."

Realising that the voice was right, the farm boy shut down his computer.

"Luke, you switched your targeting computer off, what's wrong?" an officer from the base asked.

"Nothing, I'm alright." He replied, focusing on the gaining exhaust port.

"The damn Imps are gaining on us, Luke!" For the first time, Elle sounded worried, "I'm in their range, I'm not gonna last much longer."

"Pull up then!"

"I can't-"

Just as the TIE was about to destroy Elle's X-Wing, it suddenly exploded from behind.

"What the-"

"Yahoooo!" None other than Han Solo's voice whooped as the Millennium Falcon came into view.

Just from the surprise of the freighter joining the fight, the two remaining TIE fighters bounced off each other, both catapulting in different directions away from the Death Star.

Elle grinned as she heard Han's voice, "Nice of you to join us, Solo!"

"Oh, you know," his ever-cocky voice came back, "Just thought we'd drop in, huh Chewie?"

His question was met by a confident roar from his Wookiee companion.

"You're all clear, Kid," He then addressed Luke, "Now let's blow this thing up so we can go home!"

Only taking a brief moment to smile, Luke then fired his laser torpedo into the exhaust port, using the force to get a direct hit.

"You kriffin' did it!" Elle yelled down her comm, beaming from ear to ear.

"Great shot, Kid. That was one in a million."

Making a quick get away, Luke, Elle and Wedge, followed by the Falcon, just in time to watch the Death Star explode.


	11. ANH 11

"Luke! Elle!" Leia raced over to her new friends as the few remaining pilots, including Han and Chewbacca, hopped out of their ships to celebrate the victory. The Princess flung her arms around the two, smiling the most she had in a long time, because, justice had been served. For Leia, that victory was in honour of Alderaan.

Elle grinned, whooping and hollering along with the other Rebels, "I can't believe it!"

Han then joined the group with his co-pilot, "Hey! Hey!"

"Solo!" The blonde embraced him, nearly knocking the smuggler over, he laughed, putting one arm around his best friend and then punching Luke playfully on the arm.

Luke laughed, "I knew you'd come back, i knew it!"

Han shrugged modestly, the reaction confirming that he had made the right choice to come back and help, even though the price on his head was getting bigger and bigger by the second, "Well, i wasn't gonna let you get all the credit and take all the reward."

The farm boy shook his head, despite the grin still present on his face.

"I knew there was more to you than money!" Leia laughed, as Han put his other arm around the Princess.

Luke's face suddenly dropped as he looked over to his X-Wing, to see his little astromech droid being lifted out of his compartment, fried and wires loose, "Oh no." He sighed approaching the droid with Threepio.

Even though he was a droid, C-3PO was obviously worried and showed feelings for his counterpart, "Oh my! Artoo! Can you hear me? Say something!" He exclaimed, before turning to the mechanic, who was examining the extent of the droids' damage, "You can repair him, can't you?"

"We'll get to work on his right away." The mechanic replied, before taking the damaged droid away to get fixed.

"He'll be alright." Luke told the gold droid as they both watched him be taken away, before joining his Rebel friends once more to get the celebrating underway.

* * *

"Captain Solo, you're being inappropriate." Leia said tiredly, as Han pulled her incredibly close, almost knocking her red wine out of her hand.

Nevertheless, the smuggler kept hold of her, taking a swig of his Corellian ale, "Aw, come on your Worshipful-fullness" He slurred, "I'm only being affectionate, lighten up, will you?"

The Princess sighed, "How many drinks have you had, Han?"

"Stopped counting at.. 14?" He smirked as she pulled away, looking as diplomatic as ever.

"Unbelievable." She muttered to herself as she walked away, looking for someone more sophisticated to talk to, despite the redness on her cheeks.

Han, oblivious to the disgust on Leia's face, just shrugged and went to look for Chewie.

* * *

"A new Squadron? You're crazy." Wedge snorted.

Luke nodded, "Yeah, seeing as all of Gold Squadron were obliterated." He said with a silly smile on his face, obviously intoxicated from his sudden exposure to alcohol- farm boys from Tatooine weren't exactly drinkers.

"Who would be in it though?" Wedge asked, taking a swig of his own pint.

"Well, me and you, obviously."

"Eh, i swear there's a lot of paperwork in running a Squadron?" The Corellian waved a hand.

Luke rolled his eyes, "I'll do all the paperwork then, you can be my executive officer."

A smirk suddenly appeared on Wedge's face as he leaned against an X-Wing, "I don't mind the sound of that. So, who else?"

"I dunno, i've not really had much of a chance to get to know everyone here."

Drinking the last of his ale, Wedge leaned against the X-Wing behind him, "I'll make some suggestions then. Definitely Wes Janson and Hobbie Klivian, great pilots."

"Yeah, i've heard of them. What about that Dack Ralter, year younger than me?"

"Eighteen's a bit too young."

Luke shook his head, "He has a lot of potential, i think he'd be great."

"Alright, Ralter's down. Any more you can think of, Luke?" Wedge asked.

The farm boy hesitated for a moment, before carefully suggesting, "What about Elle?"

Wedge's eyebrows shot up, "Novar? I never really thought of it. She's a chick, after all."

"But she's a great pilot, amazing in fact." Luke countered, "She could out fly most pilots in the Empire."

The Corellian nodded, and then flashed a cocky smirk that reminded Luke of both Elle and Han, "Sure. But you might have to keep me away from her, there's a chance i might relight an old flame." He winked.

"You're thinking of making a move on Elle?" Luke frowned, not even sure what he thought of the idea.

Wedge shrugged, "Well, yeah. I've known her for years, and come on, Luke, she's gorgeous."

Luke hadn't even had time to think about the blonde's immense good looks since he first saw her in the cantina on Tatooine, but he wasn't willing to admit that in front of Wedge, especially when he liked her, "I'll be sure not to assign you two as wing mates then." He responded, earning a smack on the arm from his new friend.

"Hey, as my new best friend aren't you meant to be my wingman, and get me girls, not deter them from me?" Wedge pouted mockingly, "You have a lot to learn, Skywalker."

"I'm only messing, you'll be flying along side her in no time."

"Cheers, Luke." Antilles grinned, "Now, if you'll excuse me, i'm gonna go try and win Novar's heart." He winked once more, before leaving Luke in an effort to find Elle in the large crowd of rebels.

Leia then approached him, annoyance clear on her face, however the farm boy knew at once who had done so well as to actually irritate the usually poised Princess, "Han?" He asked, already knowing the answer.

The Alderaanian stopped to look at him for a second, before saying through gritted teeth, "Yes, Han." She seethed, taking a moderated sip of her wine, "He really knows how to embarrass me as well as himself in public."

Luke laughed, "He's just drunk. Don't worry, you won't have to deal with him for much longer."

"Why?"

"Well," He sighed, "I wouldn't be surprised if after the awards ceremony tomorrow, Han just takes off and we'll never see him again."

Leia considered this for a second, before shrugging, "That will be his decision, we don't need him. We'll be fine just the two of us, and Elle, right?"

The farm boy grinned his signature boyish grin, happy that he had the Princesses attention already, "Right." He replied, hugging her, the gesture only making his feelings for Leia grow.

* * *

"Following me, Antilles?" Elle grinned as she saw her childhood friend approach her, with two fresh pints of Corellian ale in his hands. She eagerly took one when he handed her it, nearly downing it in the first swig.

"Damn, Novar, i figured 'cause you're Corellian you could drink, but i didn't think you were _that_ good of a drinker." Wedge smirked as he watched her drink, "You could even drink me under the table." He added.

The blonde raised an eyebrow, "Is that a challenge?"

"Oh, no. Of course not."

"What, you scared?" She chided, finishing off the rest of her drink.

Wedge laughed, "No, i could take you on any day. But i wouldn't want to see a pretty girl like you not look her best for the awards ceremony tomorrow morning."

"Are you flirting with me?" Elle couldn't help but feel her cheeks flush red as she smiled.

"I'd be lying if i said i wasn't." He replied smoothly.

Elle laughed, playfully hitting him on the arm, "You're such a cocky nerf-herder."

"You love it though." Wedge winked.

"You're alright, i guess."

"So, you wanna go on a date, or what?" He asked, putting an arm around her lazily.

The blonde looked up at him, "Sure, that'd be nice."

Wedge, satisfied that the first stage of his mission to get Elle's heart had gone well, grinned, "Great, we'll sneak off after the awards ceremony tomorrow. Make sure you look nice."

"I think you need to make sure that _you_ look nice." Elle countered, smirking, before kissing him on the cheek, "See you tomorrow, Antilles."


	12. ANH 12

"This is the most girly I've ever seen you look, Novar."

Elle rolled her eyes as she approached Luke, Han and Chewie. Leia had made her wear a dress for the awards ceremony, so here she was, for the first time since when she was a small girl, in a short but sweet navy dress that went in at the waist and then flowed out and had a plunging neckline. She wore a black and gold belt around her waist, black boots and a gold cuff around her upper right arm. Her hair was parted in the middle and the blonde curls flowed down to the middle of her stomach.

She _hated_ it.

"Whatever, I wouldn't have agreed to this if I didn't have a date tonight."

Han's eyes widened, "A date already? With who?"

"Wedge Antilles."

The Corellian frowned, "He's three years older than you, Elle."

Elle shrugged, "Could be worse."

Luke had zoned out completely, looking at Elle's body in the dress. Only now did he really appreciate her, when Wedge had said the night before he had just shrugged it off, thinking that Leia was the beautiful one, the one who he wanted to be with. That was still the case, but Elle did look good..

"Yellow? Seriously?" Luke was snapped out of his daze by Elle's playful smirk.

He mockingly acted hurt, "You don't like it?"

The blonde laughed, "You could have chosen a better colour, but it'll do." She said, "Remind me to take you shopping and get you some more clothes some day."

Luke laughed too, "Sure, one day you can dress me in whatever you want."

"Believe me, i will." Elle winked, "How about you, Solo? Every think of getting any new clothes at all? You've been wearing the same crap for fifteen years."

Before Han could even bite back, the ceremonial music sounded, and it was their cue. The four, including Chewbacca, started down the long isle of the Temple, walking past the countless rebel officers, pilots and agents. Elle looked to the side slightly, and caught Wedge's eyes in the crowd. The Corellian smirked, only maing the blonde smile even more.

Leia, along with General Dodonna was waiting at the end of the isle. Once they stopped, Leia was handed a medal. She laid it around Luke's neck, who smiled at her, naive blue eyes shining bright with admiration and getting a smile in return. It was Elle's turn to get her medal. Leia again placed it around her neck, the two women sharing a sincere smile briefly, before she moved onto Han, who winked cheekily. Surprisingly, the Princess grinned at the smuggler and nearly.. laughed? She had never done that in Han's direction. _Maybe Luke has some competition after all,_ Elle thought to herself.

The trio then turned to face the audience of Rebels, all three wearing modest smiles. The room then erupted in cheers, everyone celebrating one last time before the grueling evacuation process.

* * *

"Where the hell are you taking me, Antilles?" Elle complained as she trudged up one of the many mountains of Yavin 4, her hand in Wedge's, "It's a good job i didn't wear heels."

Wedge laughed, "You're just being impatient, it'll be worth it in the end."

"You better be right." The blonde mumbled, despite the smile on her face, "I wonder if anyone noticed that we were gone."

"Maybe, you are one of the three medal winners after all, but do you really care if they do notice?"

Elle smiled, "You know me too well. I'm not into the spotlight business, that's Luke's job."

"Yeah, it sure seems like it. The Alliance has needed a poster boy for a while, and Luke's come around at just the right time." The Corellian said, "He's the new golden boy."

"He's perfect for it." Elle laughed, "Leia's got him right where she wants him."

The pilot raised his eyebrows, "Leia likes Luke?"

"No," The blonde immediately answered, "At least, i don't think so. Luke is definitely mooning over her anyway."

Wedge laughed, "I know, he makes it obvious, right?"

"Right."

The two finally reached the top of the mountain, and Elle almost thought she stopped breathing for a second. The sky was red and orange, with streaks of pink running through it, not a single cloud in the sky, only the large red globe of the moon's planet, Yavin, in dominating the landscape. The Temple's that housed the Alliance were dotted around, jungle's and rain forests surrounding them for miles. It was a spectacular sight, and Elle was glad she had sucked it up and walked all the way up there.

"I had no idea you were a romantic." The blonde remarked with a smile as Wedge guided her to sit near the edge of the cliff.

Wedge laughed, "Well, what can i say?" He responded, "But don't expect it all of the time."

"Oh, don't worry, i don't want a cliche relationship all the time."

The Rebel mockingly looked hurt, "I'm cliche?"

"I didn't mean it like that." Elle laughed, playfully punching him on the shoulder.

The two stared at each other for a few moments, deep blue boring into hazel. Wedge then ran a hand down Elle's leg, "You look beautiful." He smiled.

"Not so bad yourself, Antilles." Elle's cocky reply came back as always, however for the first time, her cheeks were red from blushing, "But you know flattery is not the way to win me over."

Wedge raised an eyebrow, "Then what is?" He whispered, leaning into her slowly.

The blonde smiled a bit more, "Well, i'll let you know when you've got it right." She whispered back, as Wedge placed his hand her cheek, and kissed her. Elle leaned into the kiss, edging closer to him so she could wrap her arms around his neck. Elle could tell it wasn't Wedge's first kiss, and that unnerved her a bit to be in such vulnerable position, as she had never kissed any man like this. When she pulled away, she smiled once again, looking thoughtfully into his eyes, "Why do i feel like we haven't even been apart for the past eleven years?"

Wedge laughed, "It's because we're basically the same person. Personality wise, i mean."

"Really? Because i thought we looked the same, too." Elle remarked sarcastically, a smirk appearing on her face.

"Don't get all smart."

"Me, smart?"

The pilot rolled his eyes, "Definitely the same person."

Elle grinned, "Is that a good thing, or bad?"

Her question was answered by another, shorter kiss from Wedge, who smirked when he pulled away, "Corellians marry all the time, right? Why would it be different with us?"

_Because i'm not a typical Corellian, _Elle thought to herself, only just remembering that she would eventually become a Jedi. But that could wait, for now, she was going to enjoy herself with a childhood friend, whether she really loved him or not.

* * *

"How was your date?" Leia smiled mischievously as Elle plopped herself down on the chair opposite in the private pilots lounge, "Everyone was wondering where the woman of the night was."

The blonde waved a hand dismissively, "I didn't even do much on that run anyway, it was Luke who got that shot." She replied modestly, "And it was very nice, thank you."

The Princess grinned, leaning forward, "Where did Wedge take you? Did you do anything? Do you love him?"

"Leia, are you a fifteen year old girl?" Elle laughed.

"I'm just curious, that's all!"

"Fine. He took me to one of the mountains overlooking the jungle and base, and we watched the sun set." The Corellian shrugged it off.

"Did you do anything?"

"We just kissed."

Leia's face lit up, "_Just_ kissed? Elle, that means he really likes you?"

"I didn't know you were some kind of love expert." Elle replied sarcastically.

"It's common knowledge that men don't kiss on the first date unless they _know_ they like the girl." Leia smiled like a little girl, her brown eyes glowing, "But do _you_ like him?"

Elle hesitated, looking down, "I don't know. I just think that maybe two Corellians together would not work out, especially when the woman involved is me."

The Princess nodded, "Elle, i think you need a softer kind of guy, to be honest. Maybe Wedge isn't for you."

"And he's been with other women. I could tell. I've never been with anyone before, and i want the other one in my relationship to be the same. I dunno." She sighed, "What about you and Luke? Have you even figured it out yet, 'cause everyone else in the base has."

Leia almost cringed, "Yeah, i've noticed. But i don't feel that way about Luke, he's more like a brother to me, i've thought of him like that ever since i met him only a few days ago, it just seems.. weird."

"You might want to let down his hopes and dreams gently before it gets even more weird for you." Elle leaned back, "Because he really likes you."

"I know, I know." The Princess sighed, "If I don't do it soon it'll just get out of hand."

The blonde nodded, before changing the subject, "Did Solo say anything about what he's gonna do?"

The mention of Elle's surrogate brother made Leia's face drop into a scowl, "He's being indecisive. Saying that he doesn't want to join the Alliance but is going to help with the evacuation process."

"Isn't that good? I mean, at least he's hangin' around."

Leia crossed her arms, "If he wants to stay and help he may as well join officially."

"I don't think it's that easy for him, Leia. He tried a military career once, and it didn't end well. I just don't think he wants to be tied down to one organisation." Elle sighed, "He's always been like that since he left the Academy."

"He went to the Academy?" Leia asked in shock.

"Yeah, but you'll probably hear the whole story from the man himself at some point."

The Princess nodded, knowing that it wasn't Elle's place to say.

The blonde got up, "I'm gonna go to bed, it's late as it is and I have a meeting with a few pilots early in the morning."

Leia smiled, "Night, Elle."

* * *

Elle walked down the hall of the base to her quarters that had been assigned to her, only for the short time that she and the other Rebels were going to stay there. When she got to her room, she got the swipe key out, and was just about to open the door to her quarters, but a voice coming from nowhere made her jump.

"How was your date?"

The blonde turned around to see Luke, leaning against the wall slightly, "That seems to be the question of the hour." She answered sarcastically, "Have you been waiting for me to get back just so you could ask me this?"

The farm boy immediately shook his head, getting a bit nervous, "No- uh, I'm only down the hall. I heard you coming and wanted to ask."

"Well, it was nice, thank you."

"What do you think of Wedge?"

"Why do you care?"

"Because he's my friend."

"Aren't I your friend?"

Luke pushed himself off the wall, "Yes, of course you are. Why won't you tell me what you think of him?"

Elle sighed, "Because I kissed him, and I don't even like him in that way. There's no ounce of romance in our relationship. I'm embarrassed, that my first kiss was to someone I don't even love, and whose been with many a women before."

Like frowned, "Don't be embarrassed, you didn't know your feelings until you thought about it after, and besides, no one else has to find out about the date, Han and Leia won't tell anyone."

"And you?"

"You can count on me to keep it a secret, I promise."

Elle smiled, "Thanks, Luke." She said, giving him a quick hug, "I'm glad that I live down the hall from someone like you."

The farm boy felt his cheeks reddening as Elle embraced him, and tried to hide it as she pulled away, "Night, Elle." He smiled back, before walking briefly down the hall to his own quarters as Elle went into her own.

She flopped down on the bed, sighing heavily as she did. The blonde thought about Leia's analysis of the guy she needed, and realised.

She was talking about Luke.

Elle wasn't sure if she had feelings for Luke or not, and he definitely didn't as he was hopelessly mooning over the Princess. But maybe when Leia told him, he would eventually like Elle? Or maybe he would just not like another women for a while, focus on his duties as a rebel.

But Elle was hoping on the first one, no matter how hard she tried to deny it or her small but growing feelings for Luke.


	13. ANH 13

"Way too early." Elle complained as she exited her quarters in her new Alliance uniform and joined Luke down the hall.

"Well get used to it." He laughed, "I always had to get up early at the farm on Tatooine." The farm boy said, only after realising what awful memories were on that planet.

Elle saw his sudden change in mood, and put a tentative hand on his arm, "They would be proud, Luke, so proud."

He realised that she wasn't just talking about Owen and Beru, but also Anakin Skywalker and his unknown mother who he longed to know, "Thanks." He managed to get out, offering a small smile as they walked through the halls of the Massassi Temple that served as the base.

"Do you want to tell me what this meeting is about then?" Elle asked, changing the subject, "I would love to know what's got me up so early in the morning."

Once again, Luke found himself laughing with the Corellian, "Well, you've been honoured with the only female place on a new, Elite Squadron."

"I've been drafted, already?"

"Yes, by me."

The blonde smirked, "Ah, thanks, Skywalker. God knows where I would have ended up if you hadn't of done this for me."

"Hey, it's not a favour. You could out fly most male pilots in the Alliance, you've earned yourself a place on this Squadron."

Elle smiled, "Well, I suppose if I had any commanding officer then it may as well be you. Speaking of commanding, have you gotten that rumoured promotion yet?"

Luke looked away, "No, not yet."

"It'll come, I'm sure of it."

"What about you, what title do you think you'll get?"

The Corellian shrugged, "There have been some whispers that Intelligence want me part time, so I'll probably be an agent. But as part of a Squadron, I'm guessing that they'll promote me to Lieutenant-Commander."

"Agent?"

"Yeah," Elle smiled a bit, "I'm good at hacking into things, sneakin' around, and assassinating if I need to. That was my job with Solo."

"I didn't know that."

The blonde smiled, a smile that Luke had never before. She looked mischievous, but in her eyes he could see pain and sadness, "There's a lot of things you don't know about me, Skywalker." She said softly.

Luke frowned as she walked into the Rogue's new briefing room that had been assigned to them, thinking about her words. She had already said her past, about her parents and Vader, what else was there that he didn't know? Pushing back those thoughts and focusing on the meeting, Luke braced himself and entered the briefing room.

He had already gotten to know the pilots the day before, minus Elle and and Wedge who were on their date, the group jelled really well, and the farm boy could tell that it was just the start of something special.

Luke walked to the front of the room as the new Rogues took their seats.

"Morning-"

"Hey, Boss," Wes Janson, also a Corellian, cut him off quickly, "Who's the chick?" He asked, gesturing to Elle, who rolled her eyes.

"I'm Elle Novar." The blonde replied hotly, "Didn't you see me get that medal yesterday? For blowing up the Death Star?"

"Yeah, I did. You looked hot." Wes smirked.

Wedge, who was sat next to Elle, leaned forward, "Shut the hell up, Janson."

The female Corellian didn't look at Wedge, "I don't believe I've met any of you." She turned around to the three other men behind them, "Do you want to introduce yourselves?"

The two Rogues sat behind were stunned at the blonde's confidence and dominance over them, they had expected her to be quiet and shy to match her stunning appearance, but she was quite the opposite; and it only made her even more attractive.

"I'm Dack Ralter." The youngest spoke up finally, with some sort of arrogance to hide his naiveness.

"Derek Klivian, but you can call me Hobbie." He didn't seem that bad, it was just Wes and Dack that Elle would have to watch out for, they were definitely a pair of nerf-herders.

"Can I continue?" Luke asked, a look of mild amusement on his face as he watched Elle put the pilots in their place.

The blonde smirked, "Sure, Skywalker, just letting these assholes know whose really boss."

"Yeah, yeah." The farm boy rolled his eyes playfully, "Anyway, you six pilots have been chosen as the premier flyers of the Alliance. This new squadron will be the heart of the Rebellion, because we are the best of the best."

There was silence, so Luke continued, "There isn't that much more to say, so I'll just assign your wing mates."

Elle took in a deep breath, hoping that she wasn't with Wedge.

"Hobbie and Wes, you're together, Wedge and.." Luke looked as though he was hesitating, "Dack, you're together. And Elle, you're with me."

The blonde smiled gratefully, thankful that he didn't put her with Wedge. He, however, did not look pleased, and had a scowl on his face.

Luke saw this, and hastily looked away from his friend, "You're dismissed, missions won't be assigned until we've been posted to our new base and finished the evacuation process."

The pilots, including Elle but excluding Wedge and Luke, filed out of the room, leaving the two friends staring at each other. Wedge's glare unnerved Luke, and he knew he was mad at him.

"What the hell was that about?" Wedge started, "I thought we agreed that Elle was going to be my wing mate."

The farm boy shifted slightly, "Wedge, it's wing mates, surely talking to her in person is more important than flying next to her."

"Why did you feel the need to change it then?"

"Why don't you ask Elle herself?"

The Corellian frowned, "Was this her idea?"

Luke shook his head, "No, not at all, uh-"

"I know what it is," Wedge shook his head, a cocky look on his face, "You're jealous that i got to Elle first."

"What are you on about?"

"I see the way you look at her, how you're always with her. When i told you i was gonna make a move it was obvious you didn't like it. So now you're sabotaging our relationship and trying to get in there by assigning her to yourself."

Luke almost laughed, "You're so good at misreading things, Wedge." He retorted, "What do you care, anyway? You're just gonna use her, take advantage of her and then drop her, like you have done with so many other women before her. Elle doesn't deserve that. I'm just looking out for a friend, Wedge."

"So i'm not your friend?"

"Yes! You are! But you're not serious about Elle, you just think she looks nice in an orange flight suit."

Wedge pointed a finger at him, "Stop making me out to be some kind of womanizer!"

Luke calmed himself down, staring evenly at Wedge, not wanting to ruin his friendship with him already, "Do you love her?" He asked, face neutral, "When you kissed, was there fireworks between you?"

It looked like he had finally seen sense as he looked down, "No." Wedge said quietly, and then looked back up, "No, i don't. It was just another kiss really, more like kissing a friend. That's what it was."

"Then you need to tell her, because she feels the same."

"Okay." The Corellian sighed, "Sorry, Luke. I know you don't like Elle."

For some reason, the farm boy could neither confirm nor deny that statement, he only remained stoic.

* * *

"Luke!"

Luke looked up to see Leia walking towards him, and just from the look on her face he could tell that she wanted to tell him something, not just to have a nice chat.

"Hey, Leia." He replied, offering a small smile.

The Princess smiled back, taking a stance in front of him that Luke could only describe as diplomatic, and terrifying, "We need to talk."

_Great._

When he didn't reply, Leia continued, "I've noticed, along with many other people, that you're displaying feelings for me that are in more than a friendly kind of way."

Her tone was as if she was addressing an entire senate, but really, she was just talking about a farm boy's hopeless feeling for her that she did not return. Leia did that a lot, when she was in uncomfortable situations, she would just take her Senator stance, and act like she was debating rather than having a conversation with a friend.

"I know, Leia." Luke sighed, running a hand through his hair, "It was just a silly crush, that's all."

The Alderaanian tried not to let her eyes pop out of their sockets, "Oh. What caused this sudden change of heart?"

He shrugged, "Nothing, i just realized that you're more of my friend, a very beautiful friend."

Leia smiled warmly, shedding her diplomatic attitude, "You're sweet, Luke. I'm glad that you realized, or that would have been an incredibly awkward conversation." She laughed.

"I think it would have been more uncomfortable for me." The farm boy laughed along with her, "It would have affected mine and Han's friendship too, i guess."

"Why?" Leia frowned; why did _his_ name have to come up in every conversation with her?

"Because, we sort of had an underlying competition on who could win you over." He grinned at the sight of disgust on his friend's face, "He said when he first met you that if he was either going to kill you or beginning to like you."

"The feeling is not mutual."

"Oh, really? Then why are your cheeks red?"

"Shut up."

* * *

"Novar!"

_Great, _Elle thought to herself, _if he asks you on another date, you have to tell him that you're not interested, and that he's just a friend. _

As he got closer, the blonde started to panic more, _Come on, Novar, pull your god damn self together. _Normally, she would be calm in uncomfortable situations, it was her nature; she was just a laid back person. But she had never been in any sort of romantic relationship, big or small.

"Antilles."

Wedge sat down opposite her in the mess, looking more nervous than the woman he was sat in front of, "I- uh-"

"We're better off as friends, aren't we?" Elle cut him off, not wanting to watch him squirm.

There was a slight sigh of relief from the male Corellian, "Yeah, i guess. I'm glad we both feel the same way."

"Me too." Elle smiled slightly, "You know when you said that Corellians marry each other all the time, and we wren't any different?"

"Yeah."

"We are different." The blonde sighed, leaning back, "Corellian women are strong in nature, but i'm not an ordinary Corellian woman, Wedge. i'm strong, and more than that. Because i'm force sensitive."

Wedge's eyes widened, "What?"

"Don't tell anyone. Only Han, Luke and you know, and Chewie." Elle warned him, "No one can know just yet, i haven't even told Leia."

She only just realized she hadn't told the Princess when the words came out of her mouth.

"Are you a Jedi, then?"

"Not yet."

"Your parents." Wedge finally realized, _took him long enough, _"They _were_ Jedi! I knew it! I used to see a few holos of the Clone Wars that my parents saved before they were banned by the Empire, and i _knew_ i saw your mom and dad a few times on them!"

Elle smiled sadly, knowing that she would never know what kind of Jedi's her parents were.

"What happened to them?"

"Vader killed them." She answered quietly, blue eyes cast downwards, "I watched it."

Wedge's face dropped, "I'm so sorry, Elle. They were good people."

"Yeah, it is what it is."


End file.
